Full-body workout?

WeatherGuy wrote:
:: I cycle for weight-loss and fitness, and over the last two and-
:: a-half months have ridden 750 km and lost 12kg. However, it seems to
:: me that most of the benefit from cycling is to the lower body,
:: including the legs and abs. Is this right or is there an upper body
:: benefit as well? What other type exercise should I do to ensure that
:: I am getting a full-body workout?

You don't get much of an upper body workout from riding. You really need to
supplement your riding with some form of resistance training, such as weight
lifting, for a more balanced routine.

WeatherGuy said:

I cycle for weight-loss and fitness, and over the last two and- a-half
months have ridden 750 km and lost 12kg. However, it seems to me that most
of the benefit from cycling is to the lower body, including the legs and
abs. Is this right or is there an upper body benefit as well? What other
type exercise should I do to ensure that I am getting a full-body workout?

Thanks for any advice or links.

Mike

I like swimming and using a nice quality rowing machine at the Y. Keeps
you lean and strong. I'll do an occasional round of the weight machines
set low so I can do 20 reps of each--but that's mainly just for variety.

Yoga and pilates can be fabulous for core strength w/o adding bulk.

If you don't want to spend any bucks, you can't go wrong with old
fashioned stuff like pushups, crunches (I like to use a yoga ball), dips
(use two sturdy dining room chairs), and pull ups (find a nearby jungle
gym). I've often ridden to a park that had basic stuff to do these simple
exercises to break up the ride.

"Roger Zoul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

WeatherGuy wrote:
:: I cycle for weight-loss and fitness, and over the last two and-
:: a-half months have ridden 750 km and lost 12kg. However, it seems to
:: me that most of the benefit from cycling is to the lower body,
:: including the legs and abs. Is this right or is there an upper body
:: benefit as well? What other type exercise should I do to ensure that
:: I am getting a full-body workout?

You don't get much of an upper body workout from riding. You really need

to

Quoted message said:

supplement your riding with some form of resistance training, such as

weight

Quoted message said:

lifting, for a more balanced routine.

You don't get much of any upper body workout From ROAD riding.

You can actually get a reasonable upper body workout if you're a cross
country mountain biker. Riding up and down incredibly steep hills has done
wonders for my arms and shoulders too.

Paul

i agree with weight lifting. get some dumbells, (set of 15-35 lb), and
a bench, or stop by a local gym a few times a week on way home, or to
work. (don't go to big gym that makes you sign up for 10 years and
needs $700 right away)

check out these exercises for arms/back/shoulders/chest.
http://www.bodyforlife.com/exercise/animations.asp

doing these upper body weight routines combined with your cardio from
biking you'll be looking very cut and toned. i recommend 3-4 sets with
10-12 reps with whatever weight will get you there

not only that but makes you stronger/healthier. i used to have carpel
tunnel in shoulder when busy at work, (moving things around with right
hand). when i started doing shoulder exercises it completely went
away.

poster above is right too - simple is better. decline pushups with
chairs, pull ups with bars. etc. stay away from big home machines and
expensive gyms. (my gym is $30 bucks a month, and month to month) -
and i go bring my bike in 🙂

I didn't know you could get carpal tunnel in your shoulder -- can you
elaborate? I need to see my physician soon to get a shoulder checked
out, and I've noticed that using a computer mouse seems to aggravate
it.

-JR

yes - it's behind the shoulder, like behind shoulder blade into neck.
i move a lot of paper around at my desk, and juggle right arm between
mouse and papers, picture a symphony conducter but not quite as
exaggerated.

BUT - -the shoulder exercises a few times a week got rid of it -
military presses, arm raises and shrugs a few times a week.

WeatherGuy said:

I cycle for weight-loss and fitness, and over the last two and- a-half
months have ridden 750 km and lost 12kg. However, it seems to me that most
of the benefit from cycling is to the lower body, including the legs and
abs. Is this right or is there an upper body benefit as well? What other
type exercise should I do to ensure that I am getting a full-body workout?

Thanks for any advice or links.

Mike

It is true. Before I got really into biking I not only weighed more but
could do 30 push ups no problem and about 6 or 7 chin ups, plus curling
about 80 pounds/12 reps and over heading about 130 pounds.
Since biking I can do about 15 push ups, 1 chin up, curl 40 pounds/12
reps, and overhead about 90 pounds. The push ups and chin ups really get
me mad at myself since I weigh less and should be able to do more. My
alternative used to be rowing my boat in my back yard lake, both pull
rowing (conventional) and push rowing (great for the abs and triceps).
I moved and no longer have a house with a lake in the back so I am
getting that bikers build where all my muscles have given in to gravity.
I do have weights and try to use them in the back yard but my wife says
to quit giving the divorcee back there a free show. <sigh>

Bill Baka

maxo said:

WeatherGuy said:

I cycle for weight-loss and fitness, and over the last two and- a-half
months have ridden 750 km and lost 12kg. However, it seems to me that most
of the benefit from cycling is to the lower body, including the legs and
abs. Is this right or is there an upper body benefit as well? What other
type exercise should I do to ensure that I am getting a full-body workout?

Thanks for any advice or links.

Mike

I like swimming and using a nice quality rowing machine at the Y. Keeps
you lean and strong. I'll do an occasional round of the weight machines
set low so I can do 20 reps of each--but that's mainly just for variety.

Yoga and pilates can be fabulous for core strength w/o adding bulk.

If you don't want to spend any bucks, you can't go wrong with old
fashioned stuff like pushups, crunches (I like to use a yoga ball), dips
(use two sturdy dining room chairs), and pull ups (find a nearby jungle
gym). I've often ridden to a park that had basic stuff to do these simple
exercises to break up the ride.

Going to the gym gets old though and my rowing a real boat routine I
could explore the lake and all the streams around it for variety. It was
much more diverse and sometimes I would stay out rowing for 3 or 4
hours. The thing about that is that as your arms get tired you just row
a little slower, but if you are doing it for hours at a time you build
up in a hurry. I miss having a lake nearby, hate towing or renting a boat.
Bill Baka

SlowRider said:

I didn't know you could get carpal tunnel in your shoulder -- can you
elaborate? I need to see my physician soon to get a shoulder checked
out, and I've noticed that using a computer mouse seems to aggravate
it.

-JR

So what is it that people (me included) get sore wrists and numb hands
from when riding aggressively? The numbness goes away after about 10
minutes off the bike when I get home but the wrists have been sore the
next day. Too many big hits? It is definitely not the same as a
computer, so is it that you can only put so much strain on the wrists
and they can't add bone mass to compensate? Weight lifters don't get
repetitive stress injuries, they just get denser and stronger bones.
????
Bill Baka

Bill Baka said:

Quoted message said:

So what is it that people (me included) get sore wrists and numb hands
from when riding aggressively?

I find the opposite. When riding slowly I tend to have more weight on
the hands. When riding agressively (faster) I tend to recruit more core
strength which serves to get the weight off the hands.

so is it that you can only put so much strain on the wrists

Quoted message said:

and they can't add bone mass to compensate?

I'd bet the pain is in the soft tissue and bone mass wouldn't matter.

Weight lifters don't get

Quoted message said:

repetitive stress injuries, they just get denser and stronger bones.

Again, bone mass isn't the issue with repetitive stress injuries. The
injured part for this type of injury is soft tissue.

gds said:

Bill Baka said:

So what is it that people (me included) get sore wrists and numb hands
from when riding aggressively?

I find the opposite. When riding slowly I tend to have more weight on
the hands. When riding agressively (faster) I tend to recruit more core
strength which serves to get the weight off the hands.

When I ride aggressively it is usually off road and pretty bumpy with no
suspension so my wrists get a lot of shock load. On the road it is just
lots of miles seem to add up to sore wrists after a while.

Quoted message said:

so is it that you can only put so much strain on the wrists

Quoted message said:

and they can't add bone mass to compensate?

I'd bet the pain is in the soft tissue and bone mass wouldn't matter.

I don't think I can/could/would argue that since I am over 50 and my
mother had really bad arthritis. My sister just turned 70 and she has no
signs of it so I don't think I will, but we are both active, knock on
wood grain furniture.

Quoted message said:

Weight lifters don't get

Quoted message said:

repetitive stress injuries, they just get denser and stronger bones.

Again, bone mass isn't the issue with repetitive stress injuries. The
injured part for this type of injury is soft tissue.

I believe that and wonder if the soft tissue can be strengthened
somehow. I run (not jog) and don't have any problems there so it is
something to do with the bike (3 bikes) that I ride. They are all
different so it seems to be biking in general with me, but others have
mentioned it. It is not age related since I worked (1 day) in a KFC
plant in Arkansas when visiting my dad in 1982 and after 8 hours of
splitting chicken breasts on a bone saw I could barely hold the steering
wheel to drive home. I was all of 33 back then and could not imagine
people doing this for a career at $0.50 above minimum wage. There were a
lot of thumb less supervisors for some reason.
Bill Baka

"WeatherGuy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I cycle for weight-loss and fitness, and over the last two and- a-half
months have ridden 750 km and lost 12kg. However, it seems to me that most
of the benefit from cycling is to the lower body, including the legs and
abs. Is this right or is there an upper body benefit as well? What other
type exercise should I do to ensure that I am getting a full-body workout?

Thanks for any advice or links.

Mike

Everybody should incorporate strength training into their general fitness
plan. Keeps your bone density up, and gives you general functional strength.
Join a gym.

SlowRider said:

I didn't know you could get carpal tunnel in your shoulder -- can you
elaborate? I need to see my physician soon to get a shoulder checked
out, and I've noticed that using a computer mouse seems to aggravate
it.

-JR

An ex-football player where I work has arthritis in his right shoulder
from previous injuries. Using a mouse really aggravated it for him. He
swears by this thing called a rocket mouse. It's basically a hand-held
track ball that you kind of hold like a gun, using your trigger fingers
to click and you thumb to rotate the ball/move the cursor. Might be
something worth checking out?

\\paul

--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
http://www.underthecouch.org
..:you may want to fix my email
address before you send anything:.